Hurricane Sandy could reach Maritime region on Monday

Full moon and powerful winds could bring huge storm surge to coastal regions

Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Centre is keeping a close eye on Hurricane Sandy. (CBC)

Forecasters at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth will spend their weekend keeping a close eye on Hurricane Sandy and they are advising all Maritimers should do the same.

Hurricane Sandy could merge with another weather system, bringing a "Frankenstorm" — as some American forecasters started describing it this week — to parts of Eastern Canada and the U.S. in time for Halloween.

Experts say people in the Maritimes to Southern Ontario should be monitoring the storm closely.

Its current track puts landfall south of New York. If that happens it should reach the Maritimes late Monday or early Tuesday.

If it tracks further northward, it could bring much higher winds.

"In some areas the leaves are still on the trees," said Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Centre. "If we do get into the strong wind scenario, that may cause problems with utilities and such."

Nova Scotia Power says at this point it is not making any special plans for the storm but they say they will be monitoring it closely and will have crews ready to move in to any areas that may sustain damage and power outages.

Another issue could be a powerful storm surge for coastal regions.

"The full moon is on Monday and that typically causes the tides to be a little higher than they normally would be," said Robichaud.

Anyone who may have travel plans for early next week, especially to the United States, could have their plans altered by Sandy. Forecasters say the storm is expected to cause major travel disruptions all along the Eastern seaboard.